JP2022148686A - Air conditioner - Google Patents

Abstract

To treat drain water in a case without discharging it to the outside as much as possible, further satisfy a request for downsizing, and effectively use cold/heat of the drain water, to improve efficiency of a refrigerant circuit, in an air conditioner in which components required for air conditioning are housed in the case.SOLUTION: An air conditioner is configured such that a refrigerant circuit including a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device and an evaporator, and a blower are housed in a single case, where the condenser is provided vertically below the evaporator, and drain water generated in the evaporator is made to flow down along the side surface of the condenser extending along a ventilation direction of the condenser.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to an air conditioner.

Air conditioners are known in which a set of components necessary for air conditioning, such as components of a refrigerant circuit (compressor, condenser, evaporator, expansion valve, etc.) and a fan, are housed in a single case (see the following patent document 1).

By reducing the size of such an air conditioner, it can be installed in a room of a house or a vehicle in a small space. In addition, when considering measures against viral infections and reduction of indoor _CO2 concentration, it is required to locally or personally air-condition the ventilated space, but the above-mentioned air-conditioning equipment should be mobile or portable. , it is possible to respond to local or personal air conditioning.

Such an air conditioner is required to treat drain water (condensed water) generated during operation within a case. In the conventional technology, a cold air chamber is provided below the evaporator in the case, and a hot air chamber is provided below the condenser arranged beside the evaporator, and the drain water generated in the evaporator is temporarily stored in the cold air chamber. After being stored, it is sent to the warm air chamber and evaporated in the warm air chamber.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-83113

According to the conventional technology described above, it is necessary to provide a cold air chamber and a hot air chamber in the case. If a sufficient storage space is secured, there arises a problem that the size of the device cannot be avoided.

In addition, the conventional technology described above requires a mechanism (such as a differential pressure valve) for sending the drain water accumulated in the cold air chamber inside the case to the hot air chamber, which complicates the device configuration. Also, in this case, since the cooling air chamber is provided under the evaporator and the hot air chamber is provided under the condenser, the air flow path of the blower cannot be made straight, and efficiency is reduced. There is a problem that good ventilation cannot be obtained. Furthermore, if the drain water is treated only by the hot air from the condenser, the evaporation capacity may be insufficient, and the drain water may remain in the hot air chamber. If the drain water remains in this manner, the remaining drain water may cause mold and bacteria to propagate, which is not preferable from a sanitary point of view.

Furthermore, in the above-described prior art, since the cold heat of the drain water cooled by the evaporator is not effectively used, but the hot air is used to evaporate the cold heat, the cold heat of the drain water cannot be effectively used. board.

An object of the present invention is to address such problems. That is, in an air conditioner in which components necessary for air conditioning are housed in a case, it is a problem to treat drain water inside the case without letting it escape as much as possible. Furthermore, it is another object of the present invention to meet the demand for miniaturization and to effectively utilize cold heat of drain water.

In order to solve such problems, an air conditioner according to the present invention has the following configuration.

An air conditioner according to the present invention is an air conditioner in which a refrigerant circuit including a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device, and an evaporator and a blower are housed in a single case, and the condenser is vertically below the evaporator. and drain water generated in the evaporator is allowed to flow down along the side surface of the condenser extending along the direction of air flow of the condenser.

According to the present invention having such characteristics, in an air conditioner in which components necessary for air conditioning are housed in a case, it is possible to treat drain water inside the case without letting it out as much as possible. Furthermore, at this time, the efficiency of the refrigerant circuit can be improved by effectively utilizing the cold heat of the drain water in response to the demand for miniaturization.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a schematic perspective view which shows the structure of the air conditioner in embodiment of this invention. FIG. 1(a) is a schematic perspective view showing the appearance of an air conditioner, and FIG. 1(b) is a schematic perspective view showing the internal configuration of the air conditioner according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a partially transparent schematic perspective view showing the internal configuration of the air conditioner. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the structure of the air conditioner for demonstrating a ventilation flow path. In addition, Fig.3 (a) is a top view which shows schematic structure of an air conditioner, and FIG.3(b) is a side view. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing configurations of a drain pan and a drain water flow path;

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same reference numerals in different drawings denote portions having the same functions, and duplication of description in each drawing will be omitted as appropriate.
In each drawing, the horizontal direction in the front view is the X-axis, the front-rear direction in the front view is the Y-axis, and the vertical direction in the front view is the Z-axis.

First, the air conditioner 1 of this embodiment will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the air conditioner 1 accommodates a compressor 20, a condenser 30, an evaporator 50, an air blower 60, a ventilation passage 80, and the like in a single case 10. FIG. Note that the condenser 30 is provided with a drain pan 91 and a drain water flow path 92 . Such an air conditioner 1 is used for indoor air conditioning and vehicle interior air conditioning, and can also be used for local air conditioning in a ventilated space, personal air conditioning, and the like.

The compressor 20, the condenser 30, and the evaporator 50 are connected by piping (not shown), and together with an expansion device (not shown), form a refrigerant circuit in which refrigerant circulates.

(Compressor 20)
The compressor 20 compresses the refrigerant flowing through the piping. The refrigerant that has been compressed into a high-pressure gas is sent to the condenser 30 through a pipe.

(Condenser 30)
The condenser 30 is a heat exchanger forming part of the refrigerant circuit, and exchanges heat between the refrigerant sent from the compressor 20 and the air blown from the blower 60 . The refrigerant is liquefied in the condenser 30, and the refrigerant that has passed through the condenser 30 is decompressed by an expansion device (not shown) and sent to the evaporator 50 through a pipe. On the other hand, the air blown from the blower 60 to the condenser 30 is heat-exchanged in the process of passing through the condenser 30, absorbs the heat of the refrigerant, becomes warm, and is sent out from the exhaust port 11 provided in the case 10. be.

The condenser 30 is provided vertically below the evaporator 50 in the case 10 . Further, as described above, the condenser 30 is provided with the drain pan 91 and the drain water flow path 92 .

(Drain tray 91)
The drain pan 91 is provided above the condenser 30 and below the evaporator 50 to collect drain water generated in the evaporator 50 . Also, the end of the drain pan 91 is provided to extend to the leeward side of the evaporator 50, like a rain gutter. That is, a part of the drain pan 91 protrudes to the leeward side from the leeward end of the evaporator 50, and efficiently collects the drain water that has fallen along the leeward side along the evaporator 50. can be done.

Also, in this embodiment, the drain pan 91 is provided in an area that extends over the entire upper surface of the condenser 30 , but the drain pan 91 may be provided in an area that extends over the entire lower surface of the evaporator 50 . . As a result, drain water generated in the evaporator 50 can be collected on the entire bottom surface of the evaporator 50 . Also, the drain pan 91 may be one size larger than the entire bottom surface of the evaporator 50, or conversely, it may be provided in a region extending only over a portion of the bottom portion of the evaporator 50. good too.

In the present embodiment, the condenser 30, the drain tray 91 and the drain water flow path 92 are separate bodies, but the condenser 30, the drain tray 91 and the drain water flow path 92 may be integrated. good. That is, the upper portion of the condenser 30 may serve as the drain pan 91 and the side surface of the condenser 30 may directly serve as the drain water flow path 92 . At this time, the side surface of the condenser 30 may be composed of a header or a side plate. Since the drain water flow path 92 is provided on the side surface of the condenser 30, the tube of the condenser 30 is not splashed with water. With such a configuration, corrosion of the tube can be prevented. Since the side plates are resistant to corrosion and the headers are thicker than the tubes, the sides of the condenser 30 can be used directly as drain water flow paths 92 .

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the drain pan 91 has a meandering flow path in parallel with the blowing direction, starting from the leeward end. As a result, the drain water is discharged to the drain water flow path 92 from both sides on the windward side. In addition, it is desirable that this flow path is provided with an inclination so that the drain water can easily flow from the leeward side end of the starting point to the connecting portion with the drain water flow path 92 . Moreover, in the present embodiment, the flow path of the drain pan 91 is meandering, but the flow path is not limited to this, and may not be meandering. Furthermore, the drain pan 91 may be configured without a flow path.

(Drain water flow path 92)
The drain water flow path 92 is provided on both side surfaces of the condenser 30 and allows the drain water collected by the drain pan 91 to flow down along the side surface of the condenser 30 . In addition, the drain water flow path 92 is provided with a discharge port on the downwind side of the lower side surface of the condenser 30 to enable drain water to be discharged. That is, the drain water channel 92 serves as a drainage channel for drain water. In the present embodiment, the outlet provided in the drain water flow path 92 is located on the lower leeward side.

The condenser 30 radiates the heat of the refrigerant, but the drain water is cooled by the heat absorption of the evaporator 50 . Therefore, as the drain water flows down the side surface of the condenser 30, the cold heat of the drain water is recovered by the condenser 30, improving the efficiency of the refrigerant circuit. All or part of the drain water is evaporated by the heat of the condenser 30 .

The drain water flow path 92 has a meandering flow path parallel to the blowing direction from the upper windward side of the condenser 30 where the drain pan 91 is connected to the lower leeward side of the condenser 30 . That is, the drain water flow path 92 causes the drain water generated in the evaporator 50 to flow down along the side surface of the condenser 30 extending along the ventilation direction of the condenser 30 .

In addition, since the drain water flow path 92 is provided in a meandering manner as described above, the residence time of the drain water on the side surface of the condenser 30 is increased, and the heat recovery effect of the condenser 30 can be enhanced. At the same time, the evaporation of drain water can be accelerated, and the amount of drain water to be discharged can be reduced. In addition, although the drain water flow path 92 is provided in a meandering manner in the present embodiment, it does not necessarily have to meander. Moreover, although the flow path was provided in parallel with the blowing direction, the flow path is not limited to this and may be provided in a direction other than parallel.

Furthermore, a water retention material 94 can be provided in the vicinity of the outlet of the drain water flow path 92 . The water retaining material 94 is capable of retaining moisture. The water retaining material 94 may be, for example, a water absorbing polymer or a sponge. By providing the water retaining material 94 in the drain water flow path 92, it is possible to absorb the drain water that has not been completely evaporated. Moreover, by providing the water retention material 94 in the drain water flow path 92, the drain water can be retained on the side surface of the condenser 30, and the condenser 30 can be cooled further. In this embodiment, the water retaining material 94 is provided in the vicinity of the outlet, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the water retaining material 94 may be provided in a place other than the vicinity of the outlet.

(Evaporator 50)
The evaporator 50 evaporates the refrigerant sent from the condenser 30 and depressurized by an expansion device (not shown). The evaporator 50 is a heat exchanger in the refrigerant circuit, performs heat exchange between the vaporized refrigerant and the air blown from the blower 60, and cools the blown air.

The air blown from the blower 60 to the evaporator 50 is cooled by the refrigerant absorbing heat. The cooled air is sent to air conditioning duct 110 through opening 12 provided in case 10 . The air sent to air conditioning duct 110 is blown out as cool air. The refrigerant heat-exchanged in the evaporator 50 is delivered to the compressor 20 through piping. The refrigerant sent to the compressor 20 is compressed again and repeats the above circulation.

The evaporator 50 cools the air containing water vapor around the evaporator 50 by the heat absorption of the refrigerant, and the water vapor becomes water droplets to generate drain water. This drain water falls due to gravity and is collected in the drain pan 91 . Since the cold heat of the drain water collected in the drain pan 91 is recovered by the condenser 30 as described above, the condenser 30 can be cooled more than usual, and the efficiency of the refrigerant circuit is improved. .

(Blower 60)
The blower 60 blows air taken in from an air intake (not shown) provided in the case 10 through the ventilation flow path 80 . In addition, the blower 60 is arranged on one side (rear side) of both the condenser 30 and the evaporator 50, and is a linear ventilation passage for supplying air to both the condenser 30 and the evaporator 50. to form

The air blown from the blower 60 is distributed and blown to the condenser 30 and the evaporator 50 respectively by the shape of the ventilation flow path 80 described below.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3, in the case 10, the condenser 30 is arranged at the bottom and the evaporator 50 is arranged at the top. That is, the condenser 30 and the evaporator 50 are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the direction of air circulation by the blower 60 .
That is, the condenser 30 and the evaporator 50 are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction (the Z-axis direction in the drawing), with the condenser 30 at the bottom and the evaporator 50 at the top. A blower 60 is arranged apart from the condenser 30 and the evaporator 50 in the front-rear direction (the Y-axis direction in the drawing). Therefore, the condenser 30 and the evaporator 50 are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the air circulation direction of the blower 60 .

As described above, the air conditioner 1 has the condenser 30 at the bottom and the evaporator 50 at the top. The blower 60 is provided on the upper rear side, and a ventilation passage 80 is provided between the condenser 30 and the evaporator 50 and the blower 60 . Furthermore, the compressor 20 is provided below the air blower 60 , partly below and partly behind the ventilation flow path 80 . Therefore, in the air conditioner 1, each component (the compressor 20, the condenser 30, the evaporator 50, the blower 60, and the ventilation flow path 80) can be housed in the case 10 in a small dead space, efficiently space-efficiently, and miniaturized. ing.

(Ventilation flow path 80)
Ventilation flow path 80 blows the air blown by blower 60 to condenser 30 and evaporator 50 respectively. As shown in FIG. 3 , the ventilation flow path 80 is long in the vertical direction (the Z-axis direction in the drawing) and has an upper duct portion 81 and a lower duct portion 82 .

The upper duct portion 81 is provided between the blower 60 and the evaporator 50 and between the blower 60 and the lower duct portion 82 , and air is blown directly from the blower 60 . The air blown to the upper duct portion 81 is blown to the evaporator 50 and the lower duct portion 82 .
As described above, the air blown to the evaporator 50 is cooled while passing through the evaporator 50 and is sent out from the air conditioning duct 110 .

The lower duct portion 82 is provided between the upper duct portion 81 and the condenser 30 . The lower duct portion 82 has an upper rear portion connected to the upper duct portion 81 and a front portion connected to the condenser 30 . Therefore, the air sent from the blower 60 is sent to the condenser 30 via the upper duct portion 81 and the lower duct portion 82 .
As described above, the air blown to the condenser 30 cools the refrigerant in the condenser 30 . As described above, the high-temperature refrigerant in the condenser 30 is cooled by the drain water flowing down the drain water flow path 92, so that the cold heat of the drain water is recovered, so that the efficiency of the refrigerant circuit can be improved. .

As described above, according to the air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment, the condenser 30 is provided below the evaporator 50 in the vertical direction. Since the drain water generated by the evaporator 50 is caused to flow down along the evaporator 50, the cold heat of the drain water generated by the evaporator 50 can be recovered by the condenser 30, and the condenser 30 can be further cooled. . Therefore, the drain water generated in the evaporator 50 can be treated within the case 10 without being discharged as much as possible, and the cold heat of the drain water can be effectively used to improve the efficiency of the refrigerant circuit.

Further, according to the air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment, the drain pan 91 for collecting drain water is provided between the evaporator 50 and the condenser 30, and the end of the drain pan 91 is positioned downwind of the evaporator 50. Since it is provided so as to extend to the side, the drain water generated in the evaporator 50 can be collected efficiently.

Furthermore, according to the air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment, the drain water is caused to flow down to the side surface of the condenser 30 from the upstream side with respect to the airflow direction of the condenser 30, and to the leeward direction of the bottom of the condenser 30. Since the outlet of the drain water flow path 92 is provided, the wind from the condenser 30 creates a flow for draining the drain water from the drain water flow path 92 . Therefore, the drain water can be discharged without separately providing an air blower or the like for sucking out the drain water.

Further, according to the air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment, since the water retention material 94 is provided in the drain water passage 92 through which the drain water flows, the drain water that has not been completely evaporated can be absorbed. can be processed within the case 10.

In the present embodiment, the drain water flow path 92 is one flow path on one side surface of the condenser 30, but the present invention is not limited to this. good.

Further, according to the air conditioner 1 of the embodiment of the present invention, as described above, the drain water generated in the evaporator 50 is treated in the case 10 during the natural fall process. This eliminates the need for a space and a complicated mechanism for storing drain water once and sending it to another location. As a result, the drain water is transmitted along the side surface of the condenser 30 and evaporated by the heat of the condenser 30 to efficiently treat the drain water in the case 10 while meeting the demand for miniaturization and avoiding the complexity of the device. be able to.

In the case 10, the condenser 30 and the evaporator 50 are arranged vertically, and the blower 60 is arranged behind them to obtain cool air and warm air through a linear air flow passage, resulting in high air blowing efficiency. of the air conditioner 1 can be obtained.
Furthermore, in the air conditioner 1 of the present embodiment, the condenser 30 (heat exchanger) having longer side plates than the conventional one is used. In such a condenser 30 having a long side plate, when the drain water flows to the side plate portion and further flows in a meandering manner, the drain water stays in the side plate portion for a longer time than when the conventional condenser 30 is used. It is possible to cool the condenser 30 more.

Reference Signs List 1 air conditioner 10 case 11 exhaust port 12 opening 20 compressor 30 condenser 50 evaporator 60 blower 80 ventilation channel 81 upper duct portion 82 lower duct portion 91 drain pan 92 drain water channel 94 water retaining material 110 air conditioning duct

Claims (5)

In an air conditioner in which a refrigerant circuit including a compressor, a condenser, an expansion device, an evaporator, and a blower are housed in a single case,
The condenser is provided vertically below the evaporator,
causing drain water generated in the evaporator to flow down along the side surface of the condenser extending along the airflow direction of the condenser;
An air conditioner characterized by: providing a drain pan for collecting the drain water between the evaporator and the condenser;
The end of the drain pan extends downwind from the evaporator,
The air conditioner according to claim 1, characterized in that: The drain water is caused to flow down from the upstream side to the side surface of the condenser with respect to the airflow direction of the condenser.
3. An air conditioner according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The drain water is drained from the drainage channel by the wind passing through the condenser.
The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: providing a water retention mechanism in any of the drainage channels through which the drain water flows;
The air conditioner according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that:

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